Night of a Thousand Nights
by oneartsugar
Summary: What happened to Emily "That Night" she can't remember? Why did Emily go to Paige's house & what really happened there, how did Paige react to Emily leaving & what was Paige doing before Emily showed up? Later parts: Where did Emily go after Paige's house? Who did she see & what is reviled about "A"? Might get Steamy later...


_A/N: This takes place the same night of Season 3 Ep 1 right after the 1__st__ conversation at Spencer's house, before all the girls awake to find Emily missing. I was hoping to flesh out the scene that Paige talks about in Ep 8 Stolen Kisses. I hope to write more about what happened that night, but with New Eps coming out & some of the fall season's episodes saying contradictive things it is making it hard to write a definitive timeline for this night. So I have the next chapter in mind & mostly written, but I might have to wait to make sure I am in Canon before I publish them. Hope you like this Paily scene I wanted to just show that Paige wasn't really being shady, but rather they both were in a not so ideal situation._

_Also I hope someone gets my Maya accent reference here…wink wink_

_Please write reviews & let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own PLL characters only the words I use to talk about them._

**Night of a Thousand Nights –Part I**

Emily woke up after having passed out on Spencer's comfortable couches. The other girls were still asleep, but she was all of a sudden wide awake, though admittedly still drunk. She got up & walked or as best as she could given her state of intoxication towards the back door. "Ah, I just need some air & maybe another drink", she mumbled softly as she grabbed her flask & her jacket. Opening the back door & getting outside fairly noiselessly she found a turbulent august sky, flashes of lighting but no rain as of yet. She breathed deep & looked around she fumbled for her flask & tipped a bit of the amber liquid into her mouth. Over the summer she acquired quite a taste for rum & began to enjoy the spiced flavor as much as she enjoyed the oblivion making sensation it granted her. She thought about her first time drinking it with Maya, who insisted on speaking in a terrible "island" accent while they drank rum & cokes with lime. "Listen, er to me gurl!" Maya said while taking Emily's hand & gazing at her palm. "Tis line er tells of dark portents & strange appings all round you gurl, prepare yourself", then she busted up laughing which made Emily laugh too.

Maya had a way about her, a sort of spiritual way that could at times be insightful & other times mildly off putting to Emily as she was way more straightforward & practical. They had had an interesting relationship of bold out there Maya & the under the radar Emily who was a times both attracted & repelled by Maya's far out earth mother personality & life. Though pulling up this memory was dangerous ground & before she knew it Emily was crying small soft sobs. It had been happening all summer long, these moments of thinking about all the blissfully intense times they had together & then her realization that Maya was gone. Gone for good. She had been doing better away building houses something solid & achievable to work on, but being back in Rosewood was something else. Maya's death sat on her heart like a stone crushing the progress she thought she'd made & making her feel raw & open again. "God I hate this town, I should leave & never come back. I won't miss a damn thing about this fucking place!" she grumbled to no one in particular but then she saw Hanna's face swim in front of her eyes, followed by Aria's & Spencer's & she thought "Well I'd miss them of course". & then because thinking of Spencer now conjured up Toby she thought if him too & then Caleb popped up with Hanna's face & even "Mr. Fitz" with Aria broke through. Then she just started thinking about all the little things she liked about Rosewood. The Brew coffee & pastries not to mention swimming in the pool at school in the mornings before practice, the calm & stillness of it & the clarity that came with that kind of work out.

Then like the grand finale in a firework's display Paige's face burst forward clearly in her mind's eye. She started thinking of Paige & then swimming against & with Paige. She thought about how she & Paige had finally found a friendship before Maya's death & that their friendship had helped the team be better too. How Paige was always in sync with what Emily thought in terms of team lineups or team activities. She thought about the extra practice sessions coach was gonna start making them do this year in order to push her two best swimmers farther & to get them ready for the scouts & college teams. She thought about how besides Aria, Hanna & Spencer, Paige was the only one of her friends to even check on her over the past several months to make sure she was ok. While Emily was away Paige had sent like 3 & sometimes 4 emails a week just to check on Emily & to catch up with her. They had tried to set up a video chat but the signal was bad on Emily's side, so they only got to email. It occurred to Emily that Paige had managed to walk that fine line of being there for Emily without forcing her to talk about things she didn't want to talk about. Unlike Hanna & Spencer who on a Video chat practically forced Emily to admit to crying daily; & though Emily never shared much with Paige about how she was doing emotionally she was in awe of the level of care Paige had shown her.

Paige had always been this conundrum Emily couldn't quite figure, before they really knew each other Emily thought of her as an intensely driven academic & swimmer. Attractive for sure & sort of a loner, she never had lots of friends around or for that matter lots of friends at all. She rarely smiled except when she won though she was always looking to win. But then after "the kiss" in the car Emily felt like she unlocked one room in the gigantic mansion that was Paige McCullers. Then more came with them dating & breaking up, with Paige coming out & with her confession of feelings & their talk about their connection. Paige had been right& Emily knew it; they had something a pull towards each other that kept them linked. So much so that even now despite Emily's drunken state on Spencer's back porch she was thinking of Paige & who she was & she wondered if Paige was still up & if she could walk the few blocks to see her. She thought of the summer's correspondence, the compassion she showed, but she also started thinking of her in her speedo & her soft lips that tasted delightfully minty & always looked as if they were poised to kiss Emily. Then she took another swig of her flask & had this overwhelming drive to see the object of all her current thoughts. "Fuck it, if she's not awake I'll just text her & wake her up she's done it to me before she won't mind", again Emily spoke to no one but the night air. Emily tugged her coat on took another nip of her spiced rum & walked off down the street towards Paige's house. As she teetered one way & then the other she began thinking more of Paige's lips & the kisses they shared, it made her hungry for more. She steadied herself on a parked car & continued.

Meanwhile at the McCullers residence Paige was watching a late night movie on the big screen in the living room. Her parents were out as usual & she had the house to herself, so she made snacks & turned on "Witness for the Prosecution" starring Marlene Dietrich & Tyrone Power. It was one of her favorites; she loved all the great old film stars like Marlene & Greta Garbo not to mention Barbara Stanwyck & Gene Tierney. She was a sucker for the old MGM musicals too, the bigger & splashier the better with tons of gorgeous costumes & the Goldwin Girls. Paige often thought if she had any real vocal talent she would love to try out for a musical, but swimming, field hockey, her overachieving at school & her lack of talent meant she'd just have to watch. Just around 10:58 right as the movie's twist ending was unfolding there was a clattering sound from the front porch. Paige got up & looked out the window next to the front door & what she saw amazed her beyond belief. It was Emily Fields & she was tripping over some potted plants on her porch. Paige's heart did a little flip thing & she adjusted her clothes & hair then she turned on the front light & opened the door. Emily stumbled up the rest of the steps & leaned against a pillar holding the roof up & herself it appeared to Paige.

"Em, hey what are you..." Paige started & then upon seeing her more closely she said, "Em are you ok? Em, Are you drunk... do you need help?" She stepped out of her house leaving the door open as she went to stand next to Emily. "Paige, Paige! Hi there Paige," Emily said as she raised her drooping head to see her. "Oh man Paige I was just thinking about you & now your here, wow that worked fast. I was wishing I could see you & tell you how special you are & like POOF you appeared. You like came out of nowhere like Batman or something... you are... man you're good." Emily slurred pointing her finger out at Paige as she took a wobbly step closer to her. Paige caught her as she nearly toppled over & helped her to stand upright. "Hey Emily hon how about we get you inside & get some coffee in you, maybe some water ok. Can you tell me how much you've had to drink?" Paige started to put her arms around Emily to help support her walk into the house but Emily pulled away saying, "No, no water just you no swimming now Paige we aren't in our suits we'd get our clothes wet. Besides I came here to see you to thank you for being amazing & for being a kind & pretty good kisser, wait no, yeah for being pretty kind & a good kisser, yes that was it I think, but no swimming now."

Paige had to laugh a little at how funny Emily was even though she was clearly really wasted, Paige started to wonder if Emily drove here or walked & she looked around for Emily's car. When she didn't see it she was really relieved one that Emily was being safe & not driving drunk but also that she wouldn't have to wrestle her keys away from her. "Thanks Em," she said with a tone that you only use on the very young, the very old & the very drunk. "Em if you'll come inside we can talk more, ok" This time Paige managed to get Emily to let her get her arms around her & then helped her into the house. About half way down the hallway Emily seemed to sort of wake up or come out of it a bit. She stood up & stopped, she looked at Paige who was still trying to lead her on towards the kitchen & she put her arms around Paige sort of hanging sort of holding her. She looked into her eyes for a few seconds & leaned into Paige & gave her the most delicious kiss she'd ever had. Paige was shocked at first not knowing how this was happening & being caught off guard by it but as Emily leaned & pushed more into the kiss holding onto Paige more & more, Paige gave up any resistance & pushed back to deepen their kiss.

Paige could feel it... this kiss was HOT. The kind that leaves you weak because all your energy is thrust into it & it almost feels like you are giving a part of yourself to the other person via the kiss. Like some part of what makes you you is passing into the other person. Not to mention that Emily's lips were soft & sweet & had the right amount of wetness to them. Paige also noticed that Emily's breath tasted of liqueur which had a distinct spiced flavor to it. It was good she liked all of the sensations that her body was having & this kiss hit her in the heart making it race & swell like it was being filled from the inside out. It made the pit of her stomach twist like a herd of butterflies had claimed Paige as their homestead & were having a party to celebrate. She felt it in her head it was swimming, it literally felt like it was underwater bobbing up & down not connected to the rest of her at all just floating along going in & out with the tide. She also felt it down & inside her, a tiny tight feeling that ached to be free, she could feel herself moisten with each push & pull of their tongues. In other words it tripped all of her buttons & she felt fully alive & perhaps even on fire. She had to look down to see because her skin had physically gotten so hot she couldn't tell allegory from truth. As she broke away to look at herself she also caught sight of Emily who seemed to be sliding back into her inebriated blissed out state & then it hit Paige like a tons of bricks. This was wrong, she could not do this, not with Emily being so out of it. She was too in love with her, she wanted this to be real too badly for it to happen like this. Then Emily spoke & confirmed her worse fears.

"Mmm Maya-mine-ah mine my head is spinning" Emily slurred as she wiped her lips & then reached up to hold her head.  
"Oh, ok now I get it," Paige thought "she's still in love with Maya & she's too drunk to remember that she's gone... I'm just a place holder." Paige hung her head & backed up from Emily. "Hey where'd you go we were kissing here weren't we?" Emily took her hands from her head & reached for Paige who backed further out of reach. "This is wrong Emily you're too drunk & we need to sit you down & get you some water" Paige sat her down on the decorative bench in the hallway & walked into the kitchen opened the cabinet & grabbed a glass for water. She shook her head & had to pause at the sink to compose herself because she was about to lose it. She felt a cold shutter run through her body that chilled her to the core the lighting outside struck again & the whole house flashed bright then dark. All the warmth & light she'd felt while they were kissing was drained from her leaving an icy frost on her insides. Paige knew it was too good to be true there was no way now that Emily Fields would ever be hers, Maya's death had seen to that. Emily might even be broken with nothing & no one ever to fix her. Paige knew that if things were reverse & it was her that lost Emily like that, she'd never ever recover. As it was she wasn't sure she would recover from her realizations tonight. She knew only one thing that Emily needed her tonight, needed her help & that if she was going to have Emily in her life she'd have to step it up & be a good friend to her & to not take advantage.

So Paige put on the coffee pot & filled the water glass & called out to Emily, "Hey Em hope French roast is ok for you, also I'm gonna bring you some water do you need some aspirin? Or will you need that later..." she broke off as she entered the hall & found that Emily was not there & the door to her house was hanging wide open. Paige ran outside & called for Emily looking all around the front of the lawn then up & down the block but Emily was not to be found. Paige whipped out her phone & dialed Emily's number forgetting that she had just changed phones with her dad & that Emily wouldn't recognize the number calling her. She tried again & again & not only did Emily not pick up but her phone's voice mail inbox was full & Paige couldn't leave a message or even send a text they kept being bounced back to her.  
"Urgh!" Paige let out a huff of exasperation, "I can't even be a good friend I've lost her dammit dammit, why can't I do anything right for her?" Paige's tears streamed down her face as she turned around & headed back in the house. The ending credits music of the late night film was playing & the fresh coffee smell of Paige's mother's organic fair trade French roast permeated the whole kitchen & living room area. Paige went to turn off the coffeemaker & slumped down on the kitchen floor sliding down the cabinets & holding her face in her hands. "What did I just do? I've lost her, I've lost her…" As the film's ending announcer asks that its audience members not divulge the secret to the twist ending of "Witness for the Prosecution" Paige starts crying in earnest and the lighting flashes continue to break over the house again & again.


End file.
